Presently, growing use of distributed networks, such as the Internet and intranets, provides computer users with access to a wide variety of web sites having diverse content. Many networks, such as the Internet, enable the sending and receipt of electronic mail (e-mail) and download of content, such as file transfers, from other networks or users on the network.
A computer user may send e-mail messages (e-mails), including attachments, to another computer user, e.g., to an e-mail account, and receive e-mail from other computer users. Similar to physically delivered posted mail, e-mail may contain desired as well as undesired content. Three current problems associated with e-mail transmissions are the receipt of “junk” or unsolicited e-mails, the inclusion of computer viruses, and the inclusion of pornography.
Junk e-mails are e-mails that, again similar to physically delivered mailings, are often unsolicited by the receiver. They can include advertising, solicitations, and other undesirable content.
A computer virus is a piece of programming code usually disguised as something else that causes some unexpected and usually undesirable event (for the victim). Viruses are often designed so that they automatically spread to other computer users across network connections. For instance, viruses can be transmitted by sending them as attachments to an e-mail, by downloading infected programming from other web sites, and/or by importing them into a computer from a diskette or CD-ROM. The source application that deals with the e-mail, downloaded file, or diskette is often unaware of the virus. Some viruses wreak their effect as soon as their code is executed; other viruses lie dormant until circumstances cause their code to be executed by the computer. Some viruses can be quite harmful, causing a hard disk to require reformatting or clogging networks with unnecessary traffic, as earlier described.
Many computer users, web sites, and networks, utilize anti-virus (or “anti-viral”) programs that search computer code, such as that found on a computer's hard drive and floppy disks, for any known or potential viruses. The market for this kind of program has expanded because of Internet growth and the increasing use of the Internet by businesses and individuals concerned about protecting their computer assets.
With the improvement of anti-virus technology, virus technology has improved too. Earlier viral forms were generally executable code and the propagation of the virus was through physical media, for example, floppy disks. With more recent viral forms, the host platform is usually a computer application that runs on an operating system, and the host object is typically a document, such as application documents, or e-mail, and the virus is propagated through networks, such as the Internet or intranets. To keep pace with the evolution and deployment of new viruses, a computer user should purchase and/or update the anti-viral program protecting their computer and/or network. A computer user may be vulnerable to newer viral forms if the anti-viral program is not current.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art example of a network configuration that enables a user on a network to send a request for and receive a response from a target server. In the present illustration, the access to the target server is hosted by a service provider over a network, such as the Internet. The request typically includes a request to retrieve content, such as a listing of e-mails in an e-mail account, an individual e-mail, an attachment to an e-mail, or a downloadable file (in the case of a user using the Internet to access a web site). In some instances, the user may be requesting the content from a small network, such as a home network having only one or a few network access devices or from a stand-alone computing device. In other instances, the user may be requesting the content from a larger network, such as a corporate intranet of hundreds of network access devices. In either situation, a user typically inputs the request for content via a device 102 that enables access to the service provider. The device 102 may take many forms, such as a personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a network browser device, etc.
Many networks also include other devices that enable transmissions to the network service provider or that provide additional features to the network. For example, some networks may utilize a modem 108, such as a cable modem, which enables communication to the network service provider. Some networks may also utilize other network devices 110, such as a firewall device, router, or Internet access sharing device, that protect or augment the network. Some devices 110 may incorporate several of the above functions as well as other functions, for example, surge protection. In these networks, the request and response are typically communicated through those devices as well. In some instances, some responses may not be permitted into the network, such as unauthorized transmissions blocked by a firewall.
Typically, the user enters a request for content via a device 102 utilizing a browser application that supports protocols for various types of transmissions on the Internet, such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) in the case of e-mails and file transfer protocol (FTP) in the case of downloaded, or transferred, files from a web site. The request is communicated from the device 102 to a network service provider 112, such as a cable operator or Internet Service Provider (ISP). The network service provider 112 communicates the request over the Internet 114, or via cable, to the appropriate target server 116 having access to the requested content. The target server 116 accesses the requested content and communicates a response including the requested content over the Internet 114, or other network, to the network service provider 112. The response may be, for example, a listing of all unread e-mail, a particular e-mail, an e-mail attachment, or a downloaded file (as when a user accesses a web site). The network service provider 112 then communicates the response back to the user. Thus, the response, including the content, is communicated into the user's local network (if any) and may be communicated all the way to an application residing on a device 102.
If the requested content was a listing of all incoming unread e-mails, the user may receive a list containing both desirable and junk e-mails. Often a user may be viewing a large listing of junk e-mails interspersed with desired e-mails. When a user receives the requested e-mail account information, he/she must then review individual junk e-mails in order to glean the desired e-mails. Further, the user typically deletes the junk e-mails so that their allocated space available on the mail server is not taken up holding the undesirable junk e-mails. This process is both time consuming and annoying to most e-mail users.
In some instances, an e-mail may contain a computer virus. Where an anti-viral program is not present on device 102 or the associated network, the user may expend time reviewing an e-mail attachment before deciding whether to open the attachment. In some cases, a user may not be able to determine whether the attachment is benign and may unwittingly open a virus attachment that damages the network.
Where an anti-viral program is present on device 102, the anti-viral program may detect and identify a known virus in an e-mail, so that the user does not have to expend time evaluating the e-mail. In some instances, the anti-viral program may also disable or delete the e-mail, further freeing a user from review of undesired e-mail data. It is important that the user vigilantly update the anti-viral program as a preventative measure against new viruses.
To attempt to circumvent possible transmission of a virus to an individual input device 102 on a network, some larger networks implement anti-viral programs at the e-mail server for the network. This is advantageous for larger networks where the client owns the e-mail server, as individual input devices 102 must be reconfigured when the application is upgraded. Where the owner of the e-mail server cannot control the reconfiguration of accessing input devices with each upgrade, this implementation is usually not as effective because the owner cannot ensure the installation of the upgrade on each accessing input device.
Some firewall systems may stop communication of the e-mail to the user if the e-mail is not from a sender that is given access; however, many viruses now spread through address systems so that the e-mail appears to come from a known sender who may have been given access through the firewall. Thus, these types of firewall systems may not be completely effective.
In other instances, an e-mail message may include pornographic material, graphic depictions of violence, or other objectionable material based on religious, moral or other grounds. As opposed to junk e-mail, which is bothersome, and a computer virus, which can damage a network, the above types of content are highly objectionable to many people and are “undesirable.” It can prove difficult for a parent, school, church, or workplace to screen out such undesirable content from incoming e-mail messages.
Download of such undesirable content from a web site is also a growing concern, both to parents in a home network environment and to network supervisors attempting to prevent download of unauthorized or possibly litigious content onto their network and peripheral devices. As opposed to such undesirable content being received in an e-mail message, in this situation, a user is explicitly downloading such undesirable content by accessing a web site.
In some instances, requested downloadable content may contain undesirable content. For example, unbeknownst to a user, a requested downloadable file may contain pornographic material that is not seen by the user on the web site, but appears in the downloaded file. In another example, a minor in a home setting may request undesirable content against parental guidelines. In another example, an employee may request undesirable content for download to a company's computer against company guidelines. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a user has little control over receipt of undesirable content, such as junk e-mail, computer viruses, or pornographic material, whether the content arrives in an e-mail message or via access to a web site. Accordingly, what is needed in the field is a method and/or apparatus that enables a user on a network to control the type of content that is received at the network. Further, it would be advantageous if the method and/or apparatus enabled a user to remove undesirable content before it is received on the network.